The Syrian film collective Abounaddara has released a statement condemning the curators of Milan Triennale for using a selection of its films without consent. In November last year, the curators had approached Abounaddara to ask if they would like to take part in the triennale titled La Terra Inquieta (The Restless Earth), however despite declining the invitation, Abounaddara has found that its films have been exhibited regardless. The organisers of the triennale have said that the monitors on which the films are currently shown are streaming the works from Abounaddara’s Vimeo account, claiming that the films are readily ‘available’ on the Internet and therefore subject to their use.
In response to this, Abounaddara has said: ‘Milan Triennial uses films that speak of the struggle of the Syrians for dignity, in the service of an aesthetic-political discourse on the “refugee crisis” which privileges a Western point of view. There is an abuse of right in it, duplicated with contempt, to which our collective cannot resign, except to renounce our fight for the right to the image.’
Although at the time of of writing the films are still up on their Vimeo channel, the collective has said that it will make the films unavailable online in protest of the ‘flouting’ of their rights.
25 July 2017
